Page 51 - EW March 2025

experiencing challenges, we must not grow complacent.”
After a difficult 2024, the report concludes that the UK
can expect “more positive vibes” in the international mar-
ket this year. Early data indicates an improvement, while
the British Council says expansion in the number of study
programmes over the last three years has boosted the at-
tractiveness of UK education for international students.
“The UK will get its mojo back just as other major host
destination markets struggle under the weight of their own
mounting policy challenges.”
While India may have peaked as a source of outbound
students, a weak Chinese economy will drive increased in-
terest in postgraduate education abroad, says the report,
adding that East Asian markets will continue their upward
trajectory, with Malaysia set to be one of the primary bene-
ficiaries. Gaokao examinees: emergent grey industry

CHINA student twice a year, to make sure all are studying and tak-
Gaokao shenanigans ing exams in situ.
It would help if China relaxed regional quotas for uni-
AN ANCIENT CHINESE SAYING STATES THAT versities or scrapped them altogether. But resistance from
Meng mu san qian, the mother of Mencius, a sage, provinces which benefit from the current system makes that
“moved three times” to find him the right study en- all but impossible, says Li Hongbin of Stanford University.
vironment. Tiger mums worldover know the feeling, but few One such place is Beijing, home to many rich and powerful
push harder than the Chinese. The game of cat and mouse figures. In 2012, reform-minded officials proposed allowing
the Communist Party plays with parents to stop them trying more people to write gaokao in the capital. But Beijingers
to game the system is legendary. The party has now released protested that it would make the exam more competitive
new rules to try to stop it. for their children. After much ado, the reform was stifled.
In theory, any of the 13 million students who write the Parents will continue to act like the mother of Mencius.
annual gaokao entrance exam can qualify to attend a uni-
versity of their choice if they achieve a good enough score. DeepSeek success strategy
In practice, because of the skewed way seats are allocated
by region, the competition is fiercer in populous provinces. HE SUCCESS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
So a small number of parents try to ‘move’ to less populous platform DeepSeek, developed by a relatively young
provinces. Tteam including graduates and current students from
That’s not always easy. To enroll your child at a college top-ranked Chinese universities, may encourage more stu-
in another province might require buying a house, finding dents to pursue opportunities at home amid a global race for
a new job, or bureaucratic wrangling to change your hukou, talent, predict some experts. The emergence of DeepSeek
or household registration. So there is a temporary way by upset global financial markets in January as the model ap-
which some parents try to cheat the system. They keep their peared to rival the performance of ChatGPT and other US-
child attending the local school but, using bribes or con- designed apps, at much lower price.
nections, arrange for them to write the gaokao in another Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek’s chief executive, himself a
province. In one notorious case in 2021, the child of a head graduate of Zhejiang University, has spoken previously
teacher in populous Hebei province (with about 600,000 about the benefits of hiring students from domestic uni-
test-takers) took the gaokao in Tibet (competing with just versities. In an interview with Chinese media outlet 36Kr,
40,000 locals). Public outrage ensued. Wenfeng described his team as “recent graduates from top
A grey industry known as ‘gaokao migration’ has universities, some Ph D candidates in their fourth or fifth
emerged to help with these tricks. For a fee, consultancies year, plus a few who graduated only a few years ago”. “The
offer to smooth things over with local officials and schools. V2 model of DeepSeek was not produced by people return-
One such firm in Henan province told The Economist that ing from overseas, they are all local. The top 50 talents may
for 60,000 yuan ($7,700), they could arrange for a student not be in China, but maybe we can create such people our-
to sit the exam in Hainan, a rural southern province. selves.” Indian higher ed leaders, please note.
Worried about the anger that cheating and educational Over the past decade, the Chinese government has con-
inequality creates, on February 7, the education ministry tinuously stressed the importance of aligning university
issued new rules demanding schools send a report on every majors with advancements in science and technology, as

MARCH 2025 EDUCATIONWORLD 51